Yo! You. Ya, you. It’s me, your planet talking. That’s right. Me, the planet, speaking. Think I don’t see what’s going on? You think I’m some inert, unfeeling mass with a bit of magic inside it? First, I’m not an ‘it’. I’m a one, and I’m your only one. You’ve been taking advantage. I can stay silent no longer. Next time a natural disaster strikes. Think of me. Then think of you. Humans – a gaggle of natural disasters – just this planet’s point of view. What do I know? Yo, here’s what I know. Only humans create waste that doesn’t break down naturally. All the other creatures here have biodegradable waste practices. People ... Ouch! Was that a cigarette butt, a plastic bottle or oil down the sewer? In my current state, you know, sometimes it’s hard to tell, what with you humans bearing down on me with your garbage all the time, my scarred areas have lost some sensitivity. Do I look like I want my skin plastered with every imaginable piece of your garbage? Would you stick plastic all over your own face to the point of smothering? That’s what you do to me with chewing gum. Now I can hardly breathe. You think I’m pleased about a gyre of trash swirling in my ocean? Here’s a message for you direct from the sea. Mother Nature hates you. My waterways and their dwellers loathe you even more. Can you tell I’m pretty upset myself? None of my gifts has received respectful treatment. Air, water, land, icecaps, forests, mountains – you don’t care about them obviously. Your kind treats them all very badly. What will it take, humans? What will it take to have you respect me? Just be clean around me and we shouldn’t have any problems. Understood? I’m telling you, it’s only a matter of time before I will not be able to take it anymore. What if I turn on you and cease to be? Happy then?